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Intellectual Property UK
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July 19, 2024
Procter & Gamble Beats Henkel's Cleaner Patent Challenge
Procter & Gamble can keep its patent over a hard surface cleaner because its odor-masking tech is inventive over earlier products, European officials held in a decision published Friday.
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July 19, 2024
Swedish Tobacco Maker Loses Snus Pouch Patent
Swedish Match North has lost a patent for tobacco packaged in a pouch after European officials ruled that the oral product contains just one distinct feature, which skilled inventors would eventually have made.
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July 19, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen a libel clash between comedian Paul Currie and the Soho Theatre Company over allegations of anti-semitism, technology giant Huawei face a patents claim by Mediatek, Westfield Europe pursue action against Clearpay Finance for contract breaches and tour operating company Carnival hit chartered airline Maleth Aero for significant flight delays. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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July 19, 2024
TomTom Gets Rival's Vehicle Navigation Patent Revoked
TomTom has persuaded European officials to revoke its rival's patent over a head-up navigation display after proving that the technology is not inventive amid a lack of "technical character."
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July 19, 2024
AI Invention Not Eligible For IP Protection, Appeals Court Says
A London appeals court ruled Friday that there is nothing about a company's AI invention that differentiates it from a typical computer program under U.K. law, meaning that it cannot be protected by a patent.
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July 18, 2024
Microsoft Told AI Development Tool Too Unclear For Patent
Microsoft cannot get a patent over its method of building "conversational" artificial intelligence tools because the invention is not clear enough for a skilled person to understand, European officials held in a decision published Thursday.
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July 18, 2024
US Polo Association Loses EU TM Over All Goods
European officials nixed a U.S. Polo Association trademark after ruling that the association hadn't actually used the sign to sell any of the eyeglasses or rugs it was registered for, handing a win to an Italian rival.
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July 18, 2024
Royal Mail Denies Holding Monopoly Over UK Address Data
Royal Mail has denied a software developer's claim that it holds a monopoly over the market for updating U.K. addresses, arguing the service is not a distinct product to hold a dominant position in.
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July 18, 2024
Turkish Olive Co. Loses Bid For 'Komili' TM At EUIPO
A Turkish olive supplier cannot protect its "Komili" logo with a trademark because consumers could confuse the sign with an existing olive company's Komili trademark, European Union officials have ruled.
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July 18, 2024
Thom Browne Denies Competing With Adidas In Stripe Fight
Thom Browne told a court on Thursday that he did not use a four-stripe design on sportswear to compete with Adidas as he gave evidence in the trial of a multi-jurisdictional trademark dispute over the designs used by the two brands.
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July 17, 2024
UK Debuts Streamlined Digital Patent Service
The U.K.'s Intellectual Property Office said Tuesday that patent firm Murgitroyd has successfully filed the first patent application with the authority's new digital patent portal as part of the scheme's six-month pilot.
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July 17, 2024
Italian Designer's Historic 'Belfe' TM Saved On Appeal
A European court upheld a historic Italian sportswear company's "Belfe" trademark Wednesday, finding there was ample proof that it had used the mark to sell thousands of clothing items despite a rival's claim the brand hadn't been using it.
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July 17, 2024
Concerns Grow Over Lack Of Specific AI Bill In King's Speech
The Labour government said in the King's Speech that opened the new session of Parliament Wednesday that it plans to impose requirements on the developers of the most powerful artificial intelligence models — but fell short of saying it would introduce an AI-specific bill.
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July 17, 2024
Manufacturer Loses Grip On Handheld Power Tool Patent
A manufacturer's handheld power tool design is not inventive enough to merit a patent because a skilled person could combine two earlier blueprints to reach the same result, a European appeals board has held.
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July 17, 2024
Thom Browne Says Adidas Hasn't Earned Stripes In TM Spat
New York fashion brand Thom Browne accused Adidas on Wednesday of trying to monopolize any use of a three-stripe design in clothing and footwear as a trial got underway in London over the multijurisdictional trademark dispute.
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July 17, 2024
Venom Vocalist Sues Bandmate For Copyright Infringement
Heavy-metal singer Conrad Lant has sued his former Venom band-mate, arguing that drummer Anthony Bray and a music distributor were infringing his copyright by selling merchandise stamped with his designs.
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July 17, 2024
Electronics Biz, Uni Lose Joint Bid For Antenna Patent
A Japanese electronics business and a university in Tokyo cannot get a patent over their small-scale antenna communication technology because it is not inventive over an earlier blueprint for hearing aids, an appeals panel has ruled.
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July 16, 2024
UPC Knocks Out Amgen's Cholesterol Drug Patent
The Unified Patent Court on Tuesday ruled that Amgen's patent covering the cholesterol drug Repatha isn't valid in the European Union, less than a year after justices on the U.S. Supreme Court made a somewhat similar call on U.S. patents covering the same drug.
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July 16, 2024
Self-Styled Bitcoin Founder Could Face Criminal Prosecution
A London judge referred Craig Wright to prosecutors on Tuesday for potential perjury charges after concluding that the Australian computer scientist had repeatedly lied about inventing bitcoin for financial gain.
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July 16, 2024
UK Joins Global IP Platform To Tackle Climate Change
The U.K. Intellectual Property Office said Tuesday it has joined a global program run by the World Intellectual Property Organization aimed at supporting international efforts to address climate change and minimize food insecurity.
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July 16, 2024
Tesla Loses Bid To Sue Over 5G License Rate In UK
A London court ruled Monday that Tesla can't sue InterDigital for a worldwide license covering 5G technology, throwing a wrench in the automaker's plans to launch 5G-equipped vehicles in the U.K.
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July 16, 2024
Dentons To Offer AI-Powered IP Risk Analysis With Tech Firm
Law firm Dentons said Tuesday it has partnered up with an AI startup as part of its intellectual property service, saying the software will be able to speed up IP risk assessments for clients and flag when they need to speak further with a Dentons lawyer.
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July 16, 2024
Korean Tech Co. Can't Get Lock Screen Patent At EPO
A Korean technology company's blueprint for pressing a home button to display a lock screen is not inventive enough for a patent because it merely presents information, an appeals panel held in a decision published Tuesday.
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July 15, 2024
Netgear Defends RICO, Antitrust Case Against Huawei
Router maker Netgear is coming out in defense of its suit accusing the Chinese government-affiliated Huawei of racketeering and antitrust violations, saying that the tech company has attacked its claims by "overstating the pleading requirements and ignoring the law."
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July 15, 2024
Electrolux's Induction Hob Patent Burned On Appeal
European officials revoked an Electrolux patent for an induction hob because it didn't sufficiently disclose the invention, and skilled scientists couldn't actually make it by following the instructions.
Expert Analysis
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1 Year At The UPC: Implications For Transatlantic Disputes
In its first year, the Unified Patent Court has issued important decisions on procedures like provisional measures, but complexities remain when it comes to coordinating proceedings across jurisdictions like the U.S. due to differences in timelines and discovery practices, say attorneys at McDermott.
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Trends, Tips From 7 Years Of EPO Antibody Patent Appeals
Recent years of European Patent Office decisions reveal some surprising differences between appeals involving therapeutic antibody patents and those for other technologies, offering useful insight into this developing area of European case law for future antibody patent applicants, say Alex Epstein and Jane Evenson at CMS.
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Companies Trading In The EU Should Heed Mondelēz Ruling
The European Commission’s recent €337.5 million fine of Mondelēz is the latest decision targeting restrictions on EU cross-border trade, and serves as a warning to companies active in the region to check their contracts and practices for illegal restraints, and to perform audits to ensure compliance, says Matthew Hall at McGuireWoods.
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4 Takeaways From Biotech Patent Invalidity Ruling
The recent Patents Court decision in litigation between Advanced Cell Diagnostics and Molecular Instruments offers noteworthy commentary on issues related to experiments done in the ordinary course of business, joint importation, common general knowledge and mindset, and mosaicking for anticipation, say Nessa Khandaker and Darren Jiron at Finnegan.
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How Life Science Companies Are Approaching UPC Opt-Outs
A look at recent data shows that one year after its launch, the European Union's Unified Patent Court is still seeing a high rate of opt-outs, including from large U.S.-based life science companies wary of this unpredictable court — and there are reasons this strategy should largely remain the same, say Sanjay Murthy and Christopher Tuinenga at McAndrews Held.
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Lego Ruling Builds Understanding Of Design Exam Process
In Lego v. Guangdong Loongon, the European Union Intellectual Property Office recently invalidated a registered design for a toy figure, offering an illustrative guide to assessing the individual character of a design in relation to a preexisting design, says Christoph Moeller at Mewburn Ellis.
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Protecting Trade Secrets In US, EU Gov't Agency Submissions
Attorneys at Mintz compare U.S. and European Union trade secret laws, and how proprietary information in confidential submissions to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency is protected in the face of third-party information requests under government transparency laws.
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The Unified Patent Court: What We Learned In Year 1
The Unified Patent Court celebrated its first anniversary this month, and while questions remain as we wait for the first decisions on the merits, a multitude of decisions and orders regarding provisional measures and procedural aspects have provided valuable insights already, says Antje Brambrink at Finnegan.
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F1 Driver AI Case Sheds Light On Winning Tactics In IP Suits
A German court recently awarded damages to former F1 driver Michael Schumacher's family in an artificial intelligence dispute over the unlicensed use of his image, illustrating how athletes are using the law to protect their brands, and setting a precedent in other AI-generated image rights cases, William Bowyer at Lawrence Stephens.
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Cos. Increasingly Must Protect And Manage Intangible Assets
As investors increasingly reward companies for their institutional knowledge and intellectual capital, there is a growing urgency for organizations — especially their chief legal officers — to identify, protect and fully realize the value of intangible assets, says Paul Garland at Deloitte.
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EU's AI Act: Pitfalls And Opportunities For Data Collectors
The European Union’s new Artificial Intelligence Act entails explicit requirements and limitations throughout the AI value chain that might affect firms directly or indirectly dealing with AI development, such as data-as-a-service companies and web scraping providers, says Denas Grybauskas at Oxylabs.
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Potential EPO Reproducibility Ruling May Affect IP Strategies
A potential European Patent Office decision in referral G1/23, concerning the reproducibility criteria for patenting commercial products, may affect how disclosures are assessed as prior art and could influence how companies weigh protecting innovations as trade secrets versus patents, says Michael Stott at Mathys & Squire.
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Tips For Companies Tapping Into Commercial Cleantech
A recent report from the European Patent Office and European Investment Bank examining the global financing and commercialization of cleantech innovation necessary for the green energy transition can help companies understand and solve the issues in developing and implementing the full potential of cleantech, says Eleanor Maciver at Mewburn Ellis.
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UPC Appeal Ruling Clarifies Language Change Framework
In 10x Genomics v. Curio Bioscience, the Unified Patent Court recently allowed proceedings to be conducted in English, rather than German, shedding light on the framework on UPC language change applications and hopefully helping prevent future disputes, say Conor McLaughlin and Nina O'Sullivan at Mishcon de Reya.
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UK Trademark Law May Further Diverge From EU Standards
The recently enacted Retained EU Law Act, which removes the principle of EU law supremacy, offers a path for U.K. trademark law to distance itself even further from EU precedent — beyond the existing differences between the two trademark examination processes, say David Kemp and Michael Shaw at Marks & Clerk.